Thousands come out for the Supercrawl Hamilton residents say they've 'been waiting for'

Supercrawl came back in full swing, for the first time in person since 2019, and Hamilton showed up. 

Thousands gathered along James Street over the weekend to celebrate the comeback of the city's beloved arts and music festival, take in headliners such as The Dirty Nil, Lido Pimienta, Charlotte Day Wilson and Sarah Harmer, and interact with the countless booths, displays and food vendors. 

"I've been waiting for this one for a long time," said Lina Cuellar, an attendee on Saturday, who said she's happy the festival was back. "Every corner has something really unique and special."

Cuellar was seen dancing for a good part of Saturday evening to salsa. 

"I'm a dancer from the heart. I grew up in Colombia. So I haven't taken lots of salsa lessons," she said. "But you could just go to the dance floor and the good leads will take you to enjoy the salsa."

Some inspiration from Martin Short 

Artist Kiera Boult was one of the many visual performers featured this year.

Boult's project, Hamilton's My Lady, explores her complicated relationship with the city and their "journey for self-love and self-discovery."

"[The project] tells us that [Hamilton] is a sensitive lady and that even though her waterfront is industrial and even though her mountains are limestone that she's delicate and she's in need of empathy," Boult told CBC Arts contributor Chris Hampton when she stopped by the CBC Hamilton space Saturday.

The project was inspired by Martin Short's I, Martin Short, Goes Home and it follows Boult's character, Kiki. 

"Kiki is a performance persona that I created when I was 15-ish and she was the parts of me that I couldn't be in Hamilton."

An opportunity to connect with community

Over the years, Supercrawl has been an opportunity for local businesses and organizations to put themselves out there.

Such has been the case of  Nicky Bomberry, healing and wellness co-ordinator with the Hamilton Regional Indian Centre (HRIC), who has attended Supercrawl for at least six years.

HRIC had an information booth and a button-making setup this year. Bomberry said she loved seeing people so happy to make a button.

"I'm really glad of the interest, not only in making the buttons but in what we do," she said. 

"It's really nice to see people are interested, they want to take information about the programs that we have so that's also really neat."

Indigenous art takes the big screen 

What Was Once Lost is a video project by various Indigenous artists and aired on a giant screen at Cannon Street and James Street.

"I think it's important for Indigenous youth to take up space within a colonial city centre," said Alex Jacobs-Blum, the project's curator. 

Jacobs-Blum is from Lower Cayuga of Six Nations. She said the project was a way of paying forward the opportunities that she has had over the years.

"It was also really important for me to uplift Indigenous art practices … and this opportunity felt really special to bring it to Supercrawl and bring it to Hamilton, which is my hometown," she said. 

A 1st Supercrawl for some

For some newer businesses, 2022's Supercrawl was their first. 

This was the case for Anita Waysen Tang and Alexis Fu, a couple who run MUKA.

The pair sell "pins, apparel, stickers, and anything with art on it," with the help of two friends, according to Waysen Tang.

MUKA is based in Hamilton, and has been up a running since 2018. 

"It's been very fun," Waysen Tang told CBC Hamilton. "There's lots of music, lots of lively things going on." 

Here are few more photos of the sounds, sights and people who made Supercrawl a success on the weekend.